note: soz rajan is a pos here; no hard feelings to canon rajan lol.


Chapter 12: Riley & Kala

In which Riley meets Kala


The first time Riley leaves the church to busk after two weeks of recovery is a bright, crisp day in mid-May. The morning goes well — by noon she's already made a decent amount of money, and no one has tried to give her a hard time. She's just about to put away her guitar so she can go get some lunch when when a nicely-dressed girl approaches her tentatively.

"That was beautiful," she says. "You have a beautiful voice."

"Oh," says Riley, looking up. "Thank you."

The girl smiles, and opens her mouth to say something else, but just then a boy jogs up to them.

"Kala, there you are," he grunts. "I didn't know where you went." His eyes land on Riley, and he frowns. "Who the fuck is this?" he demands, turning back to the girl. But he doesn't wait for an answer, just grabs the girl's arm. "Let's go," he says, and alarm bells begin to ring in Riley's head, because there's something about him — his tone, his manner, his sneer, that reminds Riley of Jacks.

The girl glances at Riley, then at the boy, then nods obediently, and the pair of them leave without another word. Riley's eyes follow them down the block until they turn and enter a bookstore.

Then she pockets her earnings, packs up her guitar, and sets off in their wake.

o - o - o

It doesn't take her long to spot the girl standing alone near a shelf of books, her back to the door.

"Hey," says Riley softly, sidling up beside her.

The girl jumps, then smiles. "Oh! Hello again!" she exclaims.

"Yeah, hey," Riley repeats.

The girl nods toward the shelf in front of them. "Are you, uh... a fan of teen romance?" she asks, her eyes on the placard labeling these books as such.

"What?" says Riley. "Oh. No. I mean, maybe. I don't know." She presses her lips together. "Actually, I just wanted to, uh— say thank you. Again. For the compliment."

"Oh! Of course!"

"My name is Riley."

"Kala." The girl's smile grows, and the flips a swath of long, dark hair over her shoulder. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too," Riley says. She pauses, then goes on, as nonchalantly as she can manage. "Hey, so that guy you were with. Is he your boyfriend?"

"Hmm? Oh, Rajan? Yes," the girl says shyly. "He's here for LSAT prep books but they don't have the ones he wanted, so he's speaking to the manager…" she goes on, staring at the floor. "He told me to wait here, so— well, actually he told me to wait at the front of the store—" She frowns.

"He's very possessive of you," Riley says cautiously.

Kala just shrugs, seeming embarrassed. "He's just protective," she counters.

"So he's not, like, a dick? Or…?"

"I'm sorry?" Kala looks up, eyes wide.

Riley stands her ground. "Just, does he ever hurt you?" she asks. "Make you uncomfortable?"

"Rajan? No, never." The girl sounds shocked.

Riley nods slowly. "I— hold on," she says, unzipping her backpack. She pulls out an old receipt — prenatal vitamins, $13.95 — and the pencil she took from the library all those months ago. Hastily, she flips over the receipt and scrawls the cross-streets of the church across the back.

"Listen, this might sound strange, but if you ever need to get away from him, or— or from anyone, or anything like that," she adds, "and you don't have somewhere to go, you can come here, okay?" she whispers, handing it to Kala.

The girl frowns down at the address. "I don't mean to be rude," she says, "but I don't think you're—"

"It's a big building, you can't miss it," Riley presses on. "Just knock on the door, say Riley sent you— You'll be welcome any time, day or night, I promise."

"Alright, but why would—"

"Kala!" barks a voice. "What the fuck are you doing?"

Kala wheels around, shoving the paper in her back pocket. Her boyfriend is by her side in an instant, glowering down at her.

"Nothing, Rajan," she says meekly. "Just talking."

He puts a hand on her shoulder and throws Riley a disgusted glance. "Well come on," he says. "We're leaving. This store doesn't have anything I need." He gives her shoulder a little shake. "I told you not to move."

"I'm sorry," Kala mumbles.

Rajan nods once, then turns to face Riley. "And you leave us alone!" he snaps at her. "We haven't got any money for you, okay?"

"Rajan…" Kala moans. I'm sorry, she mouths to Riley, a horrified, apologetic look in her eyes.

Riley gives her an understanding smile.

"Come on," Rajan mutters, shooting Riley one last glare.

Then he tightens his grip on Kala's shoulder and steers her out of the store.

o - o - o

Riley tries her best not to worry about a girl she doesn't even know.

She worries anyway.